What results can we expect in the short term with They Ask, You Answer?

In modern business, there is so much focus on short-term success (will we meet our goals for this month? For this quarter?) that it can be quite exciting to get started with an approach that requires more time before results become visible.

At Buzzlytics, we guide clients in implementing the They Ask, You Answer philosophy, which was developed by American Marcus Sheridan when his swimming pool company was on the verge of bankruptcy during the 2008 recession.

Facing an unpromising future, Marcus began to openly and honestly answer every customer question he had ever heard. He posted these answers in the form of blogs on his website, and over time these blogs caused thousands of visitors to come to his site.
Buzzlytics helps businesses do the same thing Marcus did: shift their marketing focus to answer customer questions. Thus, their Web sites become a source of helpful information within their industry. But, as everyone in business knows, building trust doesn't happen overnight.

This begs the question: when can you expect results with They Ask, You Answer? If you are willing to go all in, it will happen sooner than you think.
In this article, we explain what your first few months will look like if you choose to go all-in with They Ask, You Answer.

In the abstract, the They Ask, You Answer journey begins in the mind of a business leader.

In many cases, this business leader hears Dean speak at a conference or has read the book They Ask, You Answer.

But even if he is excited about Daan's message, he may not know exactly how to begin.

In this situation, there are two possible routes to failure:

To experience the success of They Ask, You Answer, you must understand the philosophy and reach consensus.

They Ask, You Answer works best when company management, marketing and sales are all behind it.

It is a sales and marketing philosophy that can only flourish if everyone participates. So if you've caught the bug, make sure other stakeholders in your organization share your vision. Without this shared vision, implementing They Ask, You Answer in the company will be difficult.

An important part of They Ask, You Answer is bringing the content production process in-house. To do this, companies need to hire a content manager who can write blog articles, interview content experts and work with the sales team to turn buyer inquiries into content.

Once that person is there, Marcus suggests they start writing right away:

"Content managers should start producing written work within the first week. In fact, the best familiarization period consists of interviewing employees and asking questions about the products and services you're selling."

Short of your content manager, you should consider hiring a videographer. Producing video content is just as important as producing written content, and creating a "video culture" will ensure that your team quickly feels comfortable in front of the camera.

Once you've secured support and hired your content creators, you've arrived at Day 1 of your They Ask, You Answer journey.

Here's what to expect in the coming months.

After 90 days, you can expect real improvement in your sales process.

When you get started with They Ask, You Answer, you also get to work with "assignment selling'. This means that sales anticipates every question a prospect will ask and then the content manager (and videographer, if you have one) produces content that answers that question. The result is that prospects begin a sales call better informed. As a result, they not only have fewer questions, but it also creates trust in your company.

Close rates go up and the sales cycle gets shorter.

This process brings the marketing and sales teams together.

Clients generally see significant growth in organic traffic within 90 days. To do this, it is important to employ a content manager (which you have already done if all goes well) who writes and publishes at least 3 articles per week.

As their traffic increases, companies are beginning to build conversion paths to capture leads that can be passed on to their sales team.

After six months, the They Ask, You Answer trajectory should really pick up steam. Recently, you have been building the They Ask, You Answer culture and creating momentum. Now everything is really taking off. You're seeing more traffic, better leads and faster sales.

Successful companies build a culture of content creation by regularly publishing content that both attracts organic traffic and shortens the sales cycle.

At the 180-day point, your sales team and marketing team work closely together (ideally, they are combined into one revenue team).

Everyone involved understands exactly what is being written and when, and how the published content can be used in the sales process.

Content successes are celebrated company-wide.

Regular planning sessions provide alignment and strategic direction.

At this point, your company is adept at using HubSpot to track how visitors interact with content. This helps determine future strategy.

Companies also use HubSpot to track sales pipelines, automate email campaigns and offer smart content to website visitors.

After 180 days, They Ask, You Answer feels like second nature and the corporate culture has adapted to this new way of thinking.

The above shows what is possible. Not every company achieves this in 90 or 180 days. Some companies try to take a shortcut, achieving lesser results.

A common shortcut we see is the reluctance to hire a content manager. But content management is a full-time job. If you add "content creation" as an extra task to the to-do list of someone with another job, it won't get done right.

Another common shortcut to avoid is not making an effort to align your sales and marketing teams. These teams must have joint planning if you want them to work together seamlessly. Trust-based relationships don't happen overnight. You need to set aside time for team building and alignment. Establish a time - at least an hour every other week - when this alignment can take place. Make sure this is a purposeful meeting, not a waste of time. These meetings should be dynamic, interactive and engaging. Put time in everyone's calendar to achieve alignment.

They Ask, You Answer is a proven method that has been used by thousands of companies.

If you follow the steps and go all in, you can transform your business. But if you take shortcuts, you won't see the same results.

The story of Marcus Sheridan who saved his pool business by answering customer questions - creating the They Ask, You Answer method - has assumed almost mythical proportions for many who have read his book.

But They Ask, You Answer didn't save Marcus' business overnight, and making River Pools the best-visited pool website in the world certainly wasn't easy.

As you begin your They Ask, You Answer journey, remember that it is a commitment to a new approach to sales and marketing. With the right people in the right place, you can move forward quickly - as long as you are committed and hold your team accountable.

After three months, you are well on your way. After six months, these processes have become a habit and you have real momentum. From then on, the results can be stunning. Keep pursuing that goal!